


Try Again

by bl00dw1tch



Series: She-Ra: After The Fact (Hordak Centric) [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Apologies, Bonding, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Making Up, Post-Canon, Redemption, Shared Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24252991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bl00dw1tch/pseuds/bl00dw1tch
Summary: Being hurt sucks. Seeing the person who hurt you sucks. But sometimes it's nice to talk to them, and sometimes its ok to ask for another shot.
Relationships: Catra & Hordak (She-Ra)
Series: She-Ra: After The Fact (Hordak Centric) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750684
Comments: 11
Kudos: 78





	Try Again

"Hey, Hordak." 

The clone looked up from his brother, pulling the blanket up to his shoulder before standing up. His eyebrows furrowed, "Hello, Catra." 

She smiled at him hopefully, but the way her voice stuttered told him that she was nervous, "Can… Can I talk to you for a minute..?" She asks, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder to point away from the camp. To some privacy. 

Hordak was hesitant. So much had happened today. He didn't know if he was… If he could handle anything else. 

But it was dark, and it was quiet, and she was a familiar face. 

He sighed and nodded, following her away from the tents and campfires, up to the top of those cliffs keeping the valley hidden. 

She was quiet while they walked, but it was a relieved quiet, a comfortable quiet. She walked next to him, and even though she had bags under her eyes and scuffed fur and bruises every which way--even though she had been through so much horror in the past few months, she was still smiling peacefully. Because it was over. 

They stopped near the edge of the cliff, and she looked up. He followed her gaze, and was reminded once again that the Velvet Glove truly was no more. 

Hordak crinkled his nose--it had moved from where it was earlier that day. Of course, Etheria now had  _ another  _ ridiculous moon, didn't it. 

"It looks a lot nicer now, huh?" 

Hordak looked back at Catra--she was sitting down now, legs crossed and facing him. She looked up at him expectantly, and he followed suit, even if he was a little confused, "Hmm… I suppose it depends on what you consider nice." 

She propped her cheek up on her hand, "What do you consider nice?" 

Ah, questions. Questions about his opinion on things. He never was good at answering those--but it doesn't seem like he has a way to cop out anymore, does it. 

He looks down at the camp below the cliff, watching the few who were still taking watch flit about tending to fires and checking tents. He frowned at the way they patrolled the area that had been sectored off for refugee clones, but he supposed he shouldn't have expected any less. 

"... Being able to relax is nice." 

Catra chuckled, looking down there with him, "Yeah… Yeah, I hear that." 

"The stars are nice, too. I've missed them." 

She glanced back at him. He wasn't looking at the stars--his eyes were closed and his head was craned back to face the sky. She looked up and finally actually tried to admire them. 

They really were a marvel to see. She really knew of nothing she could possibly compare it to.

"Yeah. I'm glad we all get to see them every night now." 

"What about you?" 

"... Huh?" 

His head was still back, but he'd opened his eyes. Without pupils, it was hard to tell if he was looking at her or not, "What do  _ you _ consider 'nice'?" 

Her smile faltered, and she looked away, sitting back up straight, "Well… I dunno, I mean…" 

She tried to think, but only one thing was coming back to mind. It made her face soften, and her cheeks warm. 

"It's nice to have Adora back, and… it's nice to have friends again," She finally answered, before fully frowning, reaching up to scratch the back of her neck, "And that's… Actually kinda what I wanted to talk to you about, if you're ready for it, I guess." 

He finally tipped his head back down to give her a bewildered look, "About Adora?" 

She huffed out a laugh and shook her head, "No, no, about friends. About friendships," she corrected, letting her smile be bittersweet and nervous. She was starting to wish she'd waited longer, but… She wanted answers. 

"Is it ok if I bring up Prime for a second? It's just about something he said to me, nothing else!" She started cautiously, biting the inside of her cheek. She knew this was going to be rough, but she could handle it. It was just a matter of if Hordak was ready or not. 

His ears immediately pinned back at his mention, but he nodded for her to continue. 

"When he… He wanted to talk to me one day, after, um… After going through your memories, he said," She started, cringing at the way his face twisted. She waved her hands, shaking her head--she can skip all that, "Anyway! Anyway, he, um… He said that…" She trailed off to a heavy sigh, and let her hands drop to her lap. 

"He said that you… 'Held little love for me, at the end'," she finally finished, clenching her fists at the memory, at the realization it made her have. Her chest felt like it was being crushed under a boulder, "I was just… Wondering. Wondering what he meant by that--IF-- _ if  _ it was true..." 

She was looking away still--she didn't want to see whatever face he made if he was angry--if she was wrong, and that Prime had only said that to hurt her. 

She heard a strangled noise, and the shuffling of fabric as Hordak moved. 

"I…" he started to choke out, but it died in his throat, "Do you mean..--"

"Were--...  _ Were _ we friends? Did you… Did you  _ really  _ trust me?" She interrupted, trying to simplify it, just so he could answer it and get this over with. Her claws dug into the dirt.

"...Yes. I did consider you a friend. I did trust you." 

… Oh. 

Catra's ears lowered. She was hoping for that answer, she really was, but… 

"... I'm sorry." 

"It's ok. I'm sorry too." 

She finally looked at him, giving him a confused look right back, "What are you sorry for?" 

He scoffed, "Everything. The Horde. Sending you off to die, trying to kill you myself. It's not like I gave you much of a choice to be anything but what you were at the time," he said, putting his chin in his palm and frowning. 

"Oh… Right. Yeah--all that stuff happened too, didn't it? It feels like a whole lifetime ago," she says with a dry laugh, smiling in spite of it all.

"But it wasn't. It was this life. And we…  _ I _ still have to make up for it." 

Catra feels her ears droop, mirroring his. It was weird, seeing him regret. It looked familiar. It felt familiar. 

"Yeah, we do. And that's… That's ok. At least we already know we won't be doing it alone, right?" 

He glances up at her and can't help but smile back, "Not being alone always helps." 

"Mhm," She hums back with a nod, holding eye contact with him. It was so, so quiet. 

"I know… It definitely won't be the same. And I think that's probably definitely a good thing, but I just wanted to ask… If maybe we could try again?"

She held out her hand. 

"If we… Could try to be  _ real  _ friends this time around?" 

Hordak's eyes widen a smidge before he actually smiles with a full laugh--but he does take her hand, and they both squeeze in reassurance and relief.

"Yes… I think I'd like that."


End file.
